Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 December 1884 — Detection of Smugglers’ Tricks. [ARTICLE]

Detection of Smugglers’ Tricks.

Every method of evading the duties has been tried, the last being the use of soap. No doubt this article had previously afforded concealment, bat it frill I hardly be tried, again. The fact that Graves’ cake of soap contained SIO,OOO worth of diamonds will be a precaution in the future against any similar attempt. It is supposed that Graves cut the soap in layers, and placing the diamonds inside, pressed the layers together, at the same time subjecting the mass to sufficient heat to render! it solid. The cake was then smoothed off, and, being rolled up in a towel along with hair-brush and other articles of toilet had a very innocent appearance. It, indeed, would have passed had it not been for suspicion previously aroused. Graves was a well-known diamond Importer, and this class are probverbial smugglers. He wanted to save $1,500 in duties and he lost $12,000 worth of diamonds. It is not probable that he will try it again. The false trunk bottom did well for a while, but it is now so easily detected that no one really thinks of repeating it. An inspector knows at a glance whether the trunk is as deep inside as outside, and, if he is in doubt a yardstick soon settles the question. * Another method was to wind laces around the body so that the increased bulk might pass fdr corpulence, but this, too, has become so well known that detection seems inevitable. Cigar smuggling was practiced by encasing them in water-proof bags and dropping them overboard, a boat being near to * pick them up, but the harbor police soon put a stop to that. The increased espionage gradually reduced smuggling to laces and jewelry, and the ingenuity with which these have been “run” might easily excite surprise. Diamonds have been found concealed in a lady’s hair. The bowl of a meerschaum pipe, with its cover down, ■ and a little tobacco inside, can contain SSOO worth of diamonds. The heels of a pair of boots can be used for the same purpose, and the cavity* can be made large enough to contain a firstclass diamond. t A false-bottomed watch (one that has a face and no works), may be used for the same purpose, and many other methods might be mentioned; but the ingenuity of the custom-house detectives has penetrated one fraud after another, the last being Graves’ cake of soap, which has created a marked sensation. The result. of this vigilance is shown in the increased amount of duty on precious stones. It pays to guard the revenue in the closest possible manner. —New York Cor. Cincinnati Enquirer.